Trapped Memories
by ShyAndTheStrong
Summary: This has been a subject on my mind for a while now. What if the Teen Titans were sent into our world, with no memories of their previous existence in their real home, and those memories replaced with a fake past and family. Only one Titan remembers little about her past- but will it be enough to restore the team and stop the "red-and-black masked man"?
1. Remembering

I really wished he'd stop staring at me. Even if it was only for a couple seconds each time. He sat at that table outside the gas station, sipping the red liquid from his white 22-ounce paper cup through a straw, talking on his phone. He was quite the multi-tasker. He was African American, from what I could tell, and he looked like a completely normal teenager. But I knew he wasn't. Underneath that dark skin was only half of a human heart—

The other half was made of metal. He did a bang-up job of disguising himself, too. He looked thinner than what he really was, and less muscled. Boy, had he let himself go from the last time I'd seen him. Before that day, we'd been fighting alongside one another, constantly working to eventually defeat the red-and-black masked man. We were so close—but then it happened.

* * *

"_There! Get him!" the African-American boy yelled, and I was happy to lunge for him. But he was too fast. "Oh c'mon! Try harder!"_

_I shouted, "I am!" and kept attacking and attacking, chanting over and over the mystical words in my special spell. Then the masked man blasted me. I was sent into a black void, and then…_

_I awakened in bed. It wasn't my usual bed, though. It had pink sheets and a red comforter. What… the… heck. This wasn't where I belonged. I jumped out of bed and realized that I couldn't levitate in the air like I used to. Seeing a large flat-screen TV on the other side of the room, I quickly found the remote and switched it on. What I saw was surprising._

_It was me, along with my comrades, fighting the same masked man that had… had what? I didn't even remember. I assumed it was a dream; I had a lot of strange dreams back then. I shook the thought of the dream's reality off… and never thought of it again._

* * *

That is, until today. Now I've found one of my comrades, but… Where are the others? The squirrely (sometimes literally) young green boy, the serious and strong former sidekick of, well, whoever it was, and that air-headed alien girl who liked the sidekick boy. Of course, who am I to speak? I'm an alien myself. But, everyone here seems to treat me like a normal human, but how can I be? I mean, now, I do have the physical features of a human (some similar to another former comrade who is… long gone now), but I am so different from them in so many ways! People speak of me behind my back! They say I'm not completely sane, which, in this world, I get from my father, a man who is definitely not sane.

Sometimes, I think of my father as a villain. Sometimes he is evil, in his actions, in his speech, and in his thoughts, and now that I think of it, he is similar to that mysterious masked man I used to battle head-on. Sometimes in my mind, I do have feuds with him, but I never speak up to him. I guess in this world, I'm afraid. In my memories of my younger life in this world, I used to speak up all the time and would get up in front of people and sing and dance. Now, I won't even sing or dance in front of my own family (if I should even call them that; this is a whole other world). I'm so timid, yet, when I'm alone, I am brave. I'm not afraid to battle a dragon or other beast, though they _are _invisible. But I digress.

In this world, complicated though it is, I am myself, but I'm not myself. Meaning, I'm still the same hero I once was, but the hero inside me is concealed until I dream and return to the life I once knew.

It feels like my companions from my real home are so far away, or are they right beside me every day and I just don't know it.


	2. Reminiscing

I went to school one day, and I looked at my friends. First, I looked at one of my best friends in the world—a crazy boy who I always hung out with constantly. He was crazy, and sometimes I asked him if he'd turned into a monkey or something. He always laughed and retorted, "No!" I wondered if he was ever offended.

Everyone in the junior high "knew" we were in love. We always denied it. I don't even know why people thought we liked each other! We totally didn't! I didn't like him, and he didn't like me! I don't understand…

Sorry, I get a bit defensive when I'm talking about relational problems—I mean social problems… Oh, I don't know! Anyway, then I looked at my other guy friend. I did once have a bit of a crush on him, and I was sure he liked me, too, but then I realized that he didn't think of me as _his _girl, I was just a good friend. Oh, he was headstrong, and determined. He would never back down from anything. He was brave and good, and a great leader.

But before him and I, there were him and the red-head. Yes, in my world, she had a heart of gold, but in this strange world, she was different, more than any of us others. She was very stubborn and acted evilly sometimes, but I knew her heart. She wanted to be good, but her developed mind had conformed to evil. I wish I could change her back. But even my powers aren't strong enough.

Now, that strong-headed boy was with another girl. And boy, had she done wonders to get him to like her! It's like she was magical or something.

But, anyway, I don't know if my former ones or not, but one thing I do. I will not give up until I find that red-and-black masked man if it kills me. And it just might.

I've become a very daring person—when I'm alone. I'm also very outgoing around my family here, and they think I'm a kook. It hurts, and I've cried myself to sleep at night sometimes because I feel as if they judge me too much. I wonder if I shouldn't be myself around them, and I've started to put on a sort-of mask when I'm near them. But somehow, my crazy side always comes out. But sometimes I'm serious.

Sometimes I want to laugh, but I can't because of despair. I get very discouraged. I wonder if I ever did back in my real home. Everything seems to change here. My thoughts, my actions, my surroundings…

Sometimes I wonder if I'm even really human at all… and personally, I don't think I am.


	3. Dangerous Encounter

That's it. I'm doing something about this. I don't know what, but I'm doing it. This life is miserable! It has been since I realized I was from another world! I must alert the others! I must reform the… Teen Titans!

I remember! I remember everything now! Robin is the leader with the bo staff! Beast Boy is the crazy one that can shape shift into animals! Koriand'r, or Starfire, is the airhead Tamaranian that likes Robin. And the red-and-black masked man…

Slade. That's his name. That monster; that horrible, evil thing. He did this to us—and possibly himself. Now I just have to find everyone! Let's see, I've found Beast Boy, or Caleb as he's called for sure. I'll find him. Tomorrow.

Well, that's all for tonight.

- Emily Rachel Roth, Raven

Emily set down her diary and threw her covers over herself. Tomorrow was going to be a great day, once she found Beast Boy. She quickly drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, she was awakened by a touch on her arm. Her eyes shot open, and she saw a tall man with one yellow eye staring down at her. Emily immediately knew who it was. She started to scream, but a hand was clapped over her mouth, and it became a muffled cry. "Silence," a dark voice whispered. The hand slowly released from Emily's mouth.

The girl angrily whispered, "Slade. What do you want?"

Slade scoffed and replied, "Is that how you greet an old friend?"

"Alright," Emily shot up from her bed, no longer whispering. "Let's settle this. Now!" She raised her palms and chanted, "Azerath metrion zint…" But Slade stopped her.

"You're forgetting, my child," he laughed. "You have no powers here. You are helpless against me. And I against you. You see, 'Emily'," he bowed. "We are at a stalemate."

Emily's eyes flared. "My name is NOT EMILY!" If Slade hadn't known better, he would've been sure that there was actual fire in the girl's eyes. "It is Rachel Roth—Raven! And I am a… Teen Titan!" She shoved Slade to the ground. "And I am going to find the other Titans and remind them of their past and who they really are! And you're not going to stop me!"

Slade stood up. He brushed himself off. "Fine," he said, obviously holding back his anger. "Do as you must. But I will return and stop all of you Titans. Mark my words." Then, in a flash of darkness, he was gone, and Emily was back in her room, just as before.

"I'll stop you, Slade," she whispered. "I will find my friends. And I will stop you."

The next morning Rachel arose early and got ready for school. She kissed her mother goodbye and got inside her car to drive to school. Even though she was only fourteen, she had a school license and was close enough to her high school that she could give herself a ride.

But, before she arrived at her destination, her car stopped. She face-palmed herself because she was sure she'd forgotten to refill the gas tank. Oh well; she'd just have to walk. After calling her uncle, who was really good at fixing vehicles, to pick up her car, she took out her backpack from the backseat, made sure all her valuables were with her, and started on the rest of the way to school. But before she could cross the last crosswalk, a car pulled up and a man's voice called in a rich Australian accent, "Eh, Sheila, you need a ride?"

"No, thank you, I'm almost to my school now," Rachel smiled and waved, continuing on her way.

But another man climbed out of the back and snarled, "Well, that's just too bad, id'nt it?" Then he grabbed Rachel's arm and attempted to pull her into the car, clapping his other hand over her mouth. Rachel kicked him hard, and he fell back, releasing her. But he pulled out a gun from the car, and said gruffly, "Get in."

Rachel was in trouble. She knew that her only way of getting away from these guys was to perform one of her spells. But she also knew that her powers were useless in this world. _Well, _she sighed. _It's worth a shot for my life._ She raised her palms and chanted slowly, yet powerfully, "Azerath…"

The man's eyes widened. He knew what Rachel was doing.

"Metrion…"

The attacker raised his gun. "I'll shoot! I'll do it, ya hear?!"

Rachel directed her hands toward the man and shouted boldly, "**ZINTOS!**"


	4. Taking Action

**Yeah, so I've gotten pretty far in this story—honestly farther than I thought I would have. How do you guys like it? Is there anything I can do to better improve the story? Feedback would always be appreciated! ;)**

Caleb had been sitting in homeroom, wondering where Emily could be. She was almost never late. Plus, he was bored, waiting for the bell to ring so he could go to his next class. Not that he enjoyed any of his classes. He always got in trouble for goofing off. He couldn't help it; it was just his nature. Caleb had always been this way.

In fact, he faintly remembered someone always telling him to sober up a long time ago. He just didn't remember who.

But all those thoughts were interrupted when suddenly he heard a very familiar word. "**ZINTHOS!"** Then, in a blast of black, it all came back to him. And after he remembered everything—

He fell out of his desk on the floor. "Caleb?" the teacher stopped speaking and looked to the freshman student. "Are you alright?"

_I remember now. My name's not Caleb. It's … Garfield!_ Garfield stood up and laughed a little. "Yeah, I just had a… spasm. Yeah. Heh heh."

"Well, Caleb," the teacher said, annoyed. This kind of behavior had happened before. "Let's try not to have any **more **spasms today, and let me teach."

"Uh, sure." Garfield laughed nervously as all his classmates stared at him. He was used to this though; he'd gotten worse judgment than stares.

Outside, Rachel stood above the pile of unconscious people with smoke rising up from them boldly, but then fell to her knees. It was too much power for a young human to handle. But then Rachel remembered; she wasn't a human. Well, what to do now? Go back into school and pretend that this had never happened? Definitely not before calling the police.

Rachel retrieved her cell from the ground, where it had fallen when those guys had tried to kidnap her. As she dialed, a hand reached up from the sidewalk and grabbed her leg. The girl screamed and tried to zap him again, but her powers weren't working. They must have to recharge. Wow, **fantastic **time for that, now, wasn't it?

Well, she'd just have to rely on her human powers now. Rachel stomped on the man's face, weakening him a little bit, but his grip didn't fail. Rachel tried pulling away, but as she was attempting this, another guy woke up. "Grab her!" her present captor commanded, and soon the high-school student's arms were pinned behind her back. She really wished that this was a busy town!

Soon, another car pulled up, and a man with a red-and-black mask covering his left eye called from it, "Bring her in here, boys." Rachel thought she was hopeless, but then she felt a surge through her body that told her her powers were ready to kick some bad guy butt again. Smiling, she uttered.

"Azerath metrion—"

"That's enough out of you."Slade said, and a soaked cloth was forced around the girl's mouth and nose, making everything fade in and out until she finally fell back into the darkness.

Gar saw the whole thing. Emily pushed into that car, chloroformed… and he was going to stop it. He leapt from his seat and crashed through the classroom window, even though it was four stories up. "CALEB!" the teacher screamed.

Garfield felt the wind on his face as he fell stomach down towards the ground. He'd felt this before. It was… true joy and excitement. Gosh, how he'd missed this. This… was Beast Boy inside.

Then he realized he was falling down four stories—fast.


	5. Reunion

_Ok, ok, you can do this. Just imagine you're a… a cat! Yeah, like you used to do! _Garfield was approaching the ground swiftly. He really hoped he had his powers. But, he started fretting when his skin didn't change to fur and screamed as he impacted the ground on his… feet? Garfield gave a sigh of relief that he still had a little bit of power and darted off after the car holding Emily.

"Uh, Mr. Wilson?" a henchman in the backseat asked nervously. The driver turned around angrily.

"**Never **address me by my last name! You will call me Slade," Slade clenched his teeth. "And **nothing **else." He focused again on the road.

"Uh, of course, Mr. Slade," the man nodded. "But, there's a kid following us."

"What?!" Slade again turned back and saw a high-school student (no more than fourteen by his looks) running behind the car with incredible speed. Even a cross-country racer couldn't match his speed. "Buckle up. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Meanwhile, as Rachel was unconscious, she had a dream. Actually, it was more like a vision. She was standing where she had once stood years ago, or so it seemed—Slade's headquarters. She looked to her right and saw beside her, in a row, the rest of her team. They were all in glass tubes filled with strange liquid, and they all had wires and tubes hooked up to their bodies. It was gruesome to look at, and so realistic. Rachel herself tried to struggle in all the things connected to her, but they only electrically shocked her brain and weakened her.

Looking straight forward out of her virtual prison cell, she saw a familiar man standing before her. The red-and-black masked man—Slade. He was behind all of this. Rachel had known all along. She wanted to jump out and give him what for, but her wires held her back. Slade growled and said, "Why do you always have to wake up?" He walked over to a panel of buttons, pulled a lever, and Rachel felt a forceful pulse through her brain. Pacing to-and-fro, the man added, "I wish I could really stop you from finding out your real past. This time, though, I don't have any more power to erase your memory. So, I'll have to survive with you knowing my whole plan. Oh well, no way you can ever escape. Farwell, Raven."

"No!" Rachel cried through the electrocuting pain, but her exclaim was not heard due to the mask enabling her to breathe through the liquid in her case, but inaudible when speaking. Soon, she had blacked out all over again.

Gar's eyes inflamed with excitement. The agility of a cheetah spurred him on, along with his friend in danger. But as he got even closer, the vehicle started to swerve all around the road. Thankfully this was the least busy street in the town, so no other cars were getting slammed into. _Geez, road rage much? He's gonna get everyone killed—including Emily! _Garfield finally managed to jump onto the car's back and hung on for dear life as it swung to-and-fro. Summoning impeccable (and surprising) strength, he smashed the back window with his fist.

Rachel awakened dizzily; the bump on her head wasn't too bad. "What's… going on?"

"I'm getting you out of here." Gar answered, and pulled his friend's drowsy body out the back windshield.

The two in the back with Rachel weren't about to let that happen, and they reached for Garfield, but he nimbly leapt onto the street with his friend. The car started to doughnut around to chase Gar, but then another vehicle, a van, slammed right into it! It was the perfect distraction for escape. With Emily in his arms, he ran across the street and rushed into a backyard, setting his friend down. "Are you okay?"

Rachel shook her head from left to right. "I think so. I got a pretty huge bump on the back of my head." She looked up, her eyes meeting Caleb's. "Hey Caleb, thanks for…"

"Actually, Emily," the boy interrupted. "It's Garfield. Garfield Logan. I'm… a Teen Titan."

Rachel's eyes glowed. "You remember!" She wrapped her arms around her friend excitedly. "You really remember!" Then she stuck out her hand. "Rachel Roth. Raven."

As Garfield took it, it seemed that their friendship had started all over again.


	6. Discovering

Garfield felt a touch on his shoulder as he was on his laptop computer. "Beast Boy, I have an idea of how to get the other Titans back!"

Rachel watched as Gar turned around in his rotating office chair and replied, "Huh?" She rolled her eyes, seeing that her friend had just been watching a video clip about cute cats with headphones on.

"Beast Boy! Ugh!" Rachel fell back onto Garfield's couch. Even in this world, his personality hadn't changed a bit. She ripped off the headphones and shouted distinctly, "I. Have. An. Idea. Of. How. To. Find. The. Other. TITANS!"

"Oh," Garfield cleaned his ear out with his finger. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"Well, I figured that since we can't go to school; Slade'll be waiting for us there, we need to get disguises." Rachel continued, ignoring Beast Boy's last comment.

Gar gave a skeptical look. "But isn't that really cliché? Like, **really **cliché?"

"We don't have time for originality. We **do **have time to find something that **works** and won't get us back in Slade's hands."

Beast Boy stood and nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Raven," he started. "How dangerous, exactly, **is **Slade?"

_What? I thought he had his memory back! Didn't he use his powers to save me, like he said? _Rae was confused.

"I may have all my memory of Beast Boy back, but… not everything comes to mind. Do you even know?" Gar balled his hands into fists. "How do you even know that the Teen Titans exist? What if you're wrong? What if this **is **the real world? And why would you all-of-a-sudden just remember these things?!"

Rachel, awkward though she knew it was going to be, pulled Garfield close to her in an embrace. Setting her left hand on his forehead, she mumbled the words, "Azerath metrion zinthos!"

Garfield's view of the world changed completely. He was warped back into another dimension. The tall man that he'd saved Rachel from was there, and five young heroes, including Raven and himself. Raven lunged for Slade, and he blasted a black portal open, sucking all of the heroes and Slade himself inside. Gar then saw himself awaken in a dumpster, where he remembered going to sleep in for years. He was a poor child, abandoned by his parents at a young age.

As he got out of the stinking "bed", a shadow loomed over him. "Hey, kid," it said, a silhouette of a blade appearing in its hand. "I see you're all alone. Wanna have some **fun**?"

Caleb ran away as swiftly as he could, but the shadow was closing in fast. The knife-blade was now even more visible. Pushing his legs harder, the kid tripped and fell to the concrete. Awaiting a sharp stab to his small form and a slow, bloody death, but he heard a grunt from above him. Pushing himself up, he saw his potential murderer and another man rolling on the ground, trying to punch each other violently.

"Run, kid!" the man yelled, still fighting the villain. "Run to my car! It's parked on the street! Hurry! I've got this guy!" Usually Caleb wasn't one to trust strangers, but this time he had no choice. He rushed to the black, long limousine at the edge of the road, just in view of the two vigorously wrestling. A door was opened on the other side of the vehicle, and a voice said insistently, "Get in!"

It wasn't a forceful, gruff voice. It was an old man, most likely the chauffeur of Caleb's rescuer. The boy nervously climbed in as the car sped off, leaving a cloud of dust. Caleb flung around before finally finding his balance and buckling in. "Thanks."

"It's no problem," the driver nodded. He turned around and added, "Now, listen. I'm going to leave you in a safe place and come back for you with Mr. Wynan— er, the other man. I am his servant and dear friend."

The vehicle stopped when it turned around the corner and went a little further. Caleb climbed out with another "thank you" and stepped into the store in front of him. Inside stood a young man, who waved cheerily to Caleb. "Hello!"

"Uh… hi." To the store clerk, this young boy looked sad.

"Why the long face, son?"

Caleb broke down and told the whole story. The clerk's eyes widened as he grabbed a hammer from a drawer behind the cash register and took the boy back to the alley, where they found the dead body of the man who had tried to save Caleb. A note was taped to his corpse. 'I'll be back for you!' For a signature, an oval half red half black was at the bottom; it was the face of the murderer.

Caleb clenched his fists. He was angry, but he was afraid, too. But a hand of his shoulder eased him. "Come home with me tonight. I'll protect you." The two embraced.

Garfield returned from the flashback. "Slade… killed my rescuer, didn't he?"

Raven nodded her head. "Are you ready for battle, Garfield?"

Gar punched the air. "You'd better believe it!"

"Then we've got some work to do."


End file.
